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Alright!! Finally we get a place to talk about our experiences w/ Rituxan!! Thanks "Thisisms"!!!!

Well it has been about 7 1/2 months since my last infusion. I have had 0 flare up since I started the treatment and I am doing really well. Alot of what I am and have been through has already been posted in the general forum. My ms started about 5 or six years ago. Mainly w/ my bladder and
optic neuritis along w/ some back pain. After seeing many Dr.'s I realized that I was going no where. I decided to o to Houston. My first Dr's visit, after seeing the neurosurgeon that suspected ms, my current Dr. mentioned Rituxan as a possible therapy. This was even before he gave me a Dx. After several visits he finally Dx ed me w/ ms. We had tried the steroid treatments and they were effective, but from what I have heard there is a maximum number of those you can receive in your lifetime. After contacting my insurance company and getting a letter of denial, he directed me to Genetech's SPOC (single point of contact) program. I believe they negotiate w/ your insurance to try and get you the drug. Well my insurance would not budge. So by some stroke of luck he got me the drug. I am not sure how all this happened, but it did. I was concerned about not getting it because between me and my wife we earn well over six figures. I was in contact w/ my Dr.'s office off and on for about 2-3 months. Finally I called the nurse who actually administers the drug and she says " glad you called because I was just about to call you." I almost started to cry. It was like the sky had parted and I could see the sun!! Well my first appointment was set. Then I started really investigating about Rituxan and the possible harmful side effects. Which there are a few. This kinda got me nervous. I arrived at the clinic to receive my first infusion and it was a large room full of lazy-boy recliners. The nurse who I had been in contact w/ greeted us at the door and told me to pick out a seat. She is a really sweet lady. She began prepping me and told me what to expect. After a few minutes of the treatment I began to feel a small scratchy feeling in my throat and my head began to itch. I thought to myself I ain't going to say anything because I had waited so long to get this and I didn't want to screw it up. About 5 minutes later my throat had began to swell and I was scratching big time, LOL. I told the nurse she had better come over and she did. I told her about my problems and she stopped the treatment and gave me a big shot of benadryl. It immediately stopped all my problems and relaxed me. After that every treatment they gave me a shot of benadryl to alleviate this.

Well this is my story of how I got Rituxan, hope to hear from others, later arti

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Glad to see it's up. I may be posting in here soon if my neuro. wants to go this route. He's the one that brought up Rituxan, so I know he understands what's going on with it. I haven't fully decided if it's this or the immune ablation. That's one I have to think about long and hard since I don't want to try something else and still be wanting for Revimmune.

Thanks Bob, and I don't think Rituxan will be a quick fix. It has been awhile since my last infusion, but I have had some pretty amazing things going on. Such as my fatigue and strength. I still have some bladder issues, but not nearly as bad as it was! My Dr. explained Rituxan to me like this. The Rituxan kills your immune system, which I believe are the b-cells, when your body naturally regenerates the cells they reform into healthy cells. How long this takes or how many times it will take to do this is still a question because it is still Rituxan we are talking about. Off label.
I may have to go through this again. When I don't think anyone knows. The amazing part of all this to me is that even though they have essentially killed my immune system, I never really get sick. Dalton ( my son) came home with the flu right after I started this treatment. We all wound up with it. I was the first to get over it (3 days) with the flu and I was over it. Why, I have no idea neither did the Dr.

This is a painting from a friend of mine. I also dated his daughter throughout high school. He is now a very accomplished artist and actually has done many of the stamps for the Texas parks and wildlife. No more clowning !!! ---------Rituxan and Fishing----------------

Bob, I don't have a scheduled appointment w/ my Dr. I kinda feel as if I have been fired from a job. I guess from a job that I hate, but I know he will be calling. When he does I have an array of questions for him. I'm not sure he can/will be able to answer them.

This is one of my favorite paintings by him. He does nothing but outdoor works.

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